Interview: Collette Wolfe Talks OBSERVE AND REPORT

Following the debut of “The Foot Fist Way,” director Jody Hill is set to premiere his sophomore comedy, “Observe and Report,” on April 10, 2009. “Observe and Report,” starring Seth Rogen, Anna Faris, Ray Liotta, and Collette Wolfe, opened to great reviews last week at SXSW and after having thoroughly enjoyed “Foot Fist” I’d expect no less.

If you’ve missed the background on the movie then I’d highly recommend checking out the latest red-band trailer here.

In the build up to the release of the film I had the chance to talk with Collette Wolfe, one of the film’s stars, about her role as Nell, the Toast-a-Bun’er (think Cinnabon), what it was like working with Seth Rogen, and when it’ll finally be her chance to take the lead role of crazy in one of Hill’s projects. Read the interview below:

Hollywood Hills (HWH): For the uninitiated, how would you describe “Observe and Report”?Collette Wolfe: I would describe it as a dark comedy. I’ve heard a couple of people refer to it as a comedic “Taxi Driver” and I think that would be pretty accurate though it might sound crazy.

HWH: Tell us about your role as Nell, the Toast-a-Bun barista and how she fits in.Collette Wolfe: I feel like Nell is the sweet spot in the story. She is the love interest in the movie, but Ronnie Barnhardt [Seth Rogen] doesn’t really know it. They don’t start off as love interests, they are friends and then it builds to that.

HWH: A lot of the O&R feedback so far mentions on how dark of a comedy it is. What makes “Observe and Report” so dark?Collette Wolfe: There is some violence that makes it dark, but you have to watch it, you’ll really have to watch it. There’s stuff in there that Rogen’s character thinks, says, and does that are very dark. The characters here are much more complex than you’re going to get in a more generic comedy.

HWH: Is Nell a dark character or are you more the balancing side of the story?Collette Wolfe: Nell is more sweet and the heart side of the movie. Everything with her is very sweet and the glass is half full with her. Everything has a silver lining. She has a tough time with it. All the people around her aren’t very nice. Even Ronnie [Rogen] isn’t that nice to her, but she tries to stay positive while getting shit on a lot.

HWH: You got to work with a lot of talented comedians in the movie, did you have opportunities to improv your scenes?Collette Wolfe: Jody Hill is really into improv, however the character wasn’t so much about that. A lot of times with the improve is about if you can make something funnier and Nell is funny but it is more about her circumstances and looks that are funny. Seth did a lot of improv. He’d do things differently and then I’d react to those things, but my character wasn’t like that.

HWH: Considering the big names in comedy that have become fans of Jody’s work, can we expect any surprise cameos in “Observe and Report”?Collette Wolfe: Yeah. Danny McBride is in it, he’s got a scene. Ben Best is in there and has a couple of scenes.

HWH: So you’ve now done the love interest and the friend of a delusional, self-labeled hero. When is it going to be your turn to be the mayor of crazy town?Collette Wolfe: We were actually talking about that today! We’ve talked about it and there are a couple of ideas. Everything is such a fluke on if it gets made. All the right people have to come together, you have to get the right producer, you have to get the studio to pay for it. A million things have to come together.

HWH: What’s next on your list of projects?Collette Wolfe: I’ve got a small role in “17 Again” (Theaters – April 17, 2009). Then I’ve got a couple of guest stars after that. From there I’m auditioning and keeping my fingers crossed. I’m hoping “Observe and Report” will really help me.

I also did an episode of “Reaper” and an episode of “Greek,” both of which air in April. The episode of “Reaper” will air on April 21st where I’m playing a love interest of Tyler Labine’s which was great. “Greek” was really fun. The character was a bridezilla, Kiki Donovan, who comes back to the sorority to get married and starts as incredibly sweet and then turns into a complete psycho.